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Importing data

Places supports three import methods. Each maps to a different source — pick the one that matches where your data is coming from.

Google Takeout

For places saved directly in Google Maps — restaurants, shops, landmarks you've starred or added to lists.

Google Takeout lets you download an archive of your Google data. To export just your saved places:

  1. Go to takeout.google.com.
  2. Click Deselect all, then scroll down and check Maps (your places).
  3. Click Next step, choose your export format (zip is fine), and download.
  4. Upload the zip file directly in Places — no need to unzip it first.

The importer looks for CSV files inside Takeout/Saved/. Each CSV file corresponds to one of your Google Maps lists and will become a separate list in Places.

Coordinates are looked up via Google Places for each entry, so places that can't be matched will be skipped. Imports with many places can take a minute or two to complete.

Heads up: Takeout archives can be large

If you've exported a lot of Google data, your Takeout zip might be very large — even if your saved places are only a small part of it. If the upload is slow or fails, you can trim it down:

  1. Unzip the downloaded archive.
  2. Go into the Takeout/Saved/ folder. You'll see one CSV per list.
  3. Delete the CSVs for lists you don't want to import.
  4. Zip the Takeout/ folder back up and upload that instead.

Tip: Exporting only what you need

Finding the right thing to check in Google Takeout is surprisingly tricky. Make sure you check Maps (your places) — not "Maps" which refers to something else. If you only want specific lists, you can deselect them in the Takeout folder after downloading rather than trying to filter during export.

Google My Maps (KMZ/KML)

For custom maps you've built in Google My Maps, or any other tool that exports KMZ or KML files (including Google Earth).

KMZ is a standard geographic file format — essentially a compressed KML file, which is an XML format for storing locations and their coordinates. Because coordinates are already embedded in the file, no lookup is needed and imports are fast.

To export from Google My Maps:

  1. Open mymaps.google.com and open the map you want to export.
  2. Click the three-dot menu (⋮) next to the map title.
  3. Choose Export to KML/KMZ.
  4. Keep Export as KMZ file checked and download.
  5. Upload the .kmz file in Places.

Each layer in your map becomes a separate list in Places. Only point locations are imported — lines and polygon shapes are skipped.

My Maps in Google Takeout

If you download a full Google Takeout archive, your My Maps are included too — inside a separate My Maps/ folder, with one .kmz file per map. You can import each of those files individually using this method.

Places export (JSON)

For re-importing data you previously exported from Places.

If you've downloaded your data from Places via Profile → Export JSON, you can re-import it using this method. It's useful for migrating between accounts or restoring from a backup.

  1. Go to your profile and click Export JSON to download your data.
  2. In the import dialog, choose Places export and select that file.
  3. All your lists, places, and notes will be restored exactly as exported.

Unlike the other import methods, this one restores coordinates directly — no geocoding or lookup step involved.